What Makes a Preservation Letter Presidential

When reading the preservation letter in which President Trump’s lawyer addressed the publication of Fire and Fury, Craig Ball noticed that the writing was very familiar. In fact, the last six pages of the letter were taken straight from Craig’s article “The Sincerest Form of Flattery,” grammar quirks and all. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk to Craig Ball about what it’s like to have the lawyers of the President of the U.S. use your words in one of his preservation letters and why this was perhaps the wrong move for President Trump’s lawyers. They also discuss what preservation letters accomplish, how to draft a solid letter, and how to respond when you’re on the receiving end of a preservation letter.

Craig Ball is a longtime adjunct professor teaching digital evidence at the University of Texas School of Law and he writes and speaks around the world on e-discovery and computer forensics.

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